"Won't it be wherever you last placed it?" Evan asked with a grin at his joke.
"Haha. I didn't put it anywhere. Someone else did."
"Call them."
"I think they're dead."
Evan dropped the curtain, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern. "There is definitely something important you're not telling me. What is it? I can help look. It might save us time."
"It's a book. A very old book."
"Title? Author?"
"Neither."
"Big? Small? Is it..."
"I don't know! I've never seen it!" I interrupted before he could ask another question.
"We're looking for a book you've never seen before, without an author or title," Evan mused before blinking. It's funny when you catch a demon by surprise. It's almost as if he couldn't believe something bypassed him, not when he’s so big and scary. Evan might only have had half the demon lineage, but the expression on his face just then was exactly the same. "It's a horologican," he said, sounding surprised.
"Yes. I was told there was one here and I need to retrieve it. It's important."
"I know that, or we wouldn't have potentially risked our lives to come here to get it, but a horologican? It's not Chyler's. I know you saw that one before."
"Chyler's is at the hotel. She only arrived to give it to me when The Brotherhood sent their message. I thought it was the one I needed, but apparently, there’s another one here with the answers, and it showed me actually opening it."
"The one you need? For what?" Evan's voice lost the jovial, conversational tone it formerly held, and turned sceptical, if not annoyed.
"Can I explain this later, please?" I implored, "We don't have much time. I'm going to divine its location."
I waited for his smart reply, insisting that he know exactly what I needed the book for, but Evan wasn't listening. Not to me, anyway. I opened my mouth to say his name, but he held up a forefinger, gesturing for me to wait.
"Someone's here," he said. "I think we activated something by materialising here."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I don't want to send my magic out in case I trigger something else. Find the book while I check things out." Evan disappeared.
I was glad not to be alone in the house. Even with Evan annoyed, he was a comforting presence. Despite his heat signature lingering, icy chills ran through me. As I glanced towards the door, I could see my past shadow self crossing to open it, laughing, with the phone in my hand. I had to close my eyes and cover my ears to stop the sound of me screaming Evan's name.
Then, arms surrounded me and I struggled, fighting to free myself as tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Stella! It's me! Stop fighting!" Evan spoke softly in my ear as I struggled, straining to register what he was saying. I wasn't being kidnapped. I was okay. Somehow, I'd fallen back into my memory. "What happened?" I whispered. "It was so real. I don't know what happened."
"Shush. It's okay. I was only gone a minute or two when I heard you scream. I thought someone had gotten inside."
"It was a flashback. I saw myself answering the door. I saw Auberon..."
"Shh." Evan pulled me against his chest, laying his hand protectively across the back of my head. "He isn't here. Flashbacks are part of the healing process. It's your mind’s way of dealing with the trauma."
"But you said someone was here... It felt so real."
"I didn't see anyone, but yes, I think someone has been watching your house, just as we expected they would. Can you find the book? I'd like to leave as quickly as we can. You're safer at The Amethyst."
"Yes, yes, I... I was going to do that. I'm ready."
"You're sure?"
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, steeling myself as my cheeks dried. This could not be the moment I snapped. I had a task, and I intended to complete it. The whole supernatural world was relying on me to find this artefact; or they would be, if they knew about it. Some of them would, no doubt, want to kill me for it.
I shook out the divining crystals chain, letting it fall between my fingers. Slowly, I began to turn it into a circle, having no idea if it would work. All my previous attempts at locating lost items involved knowing what the thing or person was, while moving the crystal over a map. Never before did I try to find something that I couldn't envisage or in such a relatively small location.
Starting in the living room, I sent searching magic into the chain. I waited as it infused the crystal before I began to spin it in slow circles as I moved around, concentrating on the book being found.
I tried not to look at Evan as I walked back and forth across the room, while the crystal dispersed its magic energy as it moved. When I noticed him nudge the curtains aside once more, I willed myself to focus on the task, and not what could be waiting to attack us. Whatever was agitating Evan was not my concern now. My only priority was finding the book.
"It's not in the living room," I told him. "I'm going to check the kitchen, and then the bedrooms."
"Go ahead," replied Evan, turning to move to the door. He rested his ear against it, listening for something I couldn't fathom.
Passing quickly into the kitchen, I repeated the divining process, circling the crystal across the floor and then over the countertops. I made sure I checked under the table and even around the fridge. Nothing.
Frustrated, I moved into my bedroom next, and then the guest rooms. Each time, the crystal refused to exert any pull.
"Any luck?" asked Evan, appearing silently behind me, and causing me to jump.
"Nothing. Maybe I'm doing it wrong."
"I doubt that."
"Why?"
"Because you had excellent teachers and an innate talent for magic. Keep looking. Where's left?"
"The bathroom, the sunroom, the dining room. What was that?" I took an involuntary step towards the window as something moving fast caught my eye.
"Werewolf."
"Oh?"
"I called them when I checked outside. They sent a small patrol to circle the house, out of sight."
"What do you think is out there?"
"I don't know."
Another thought dawned on me. "People know we're here now."
"I didn't say you or I were here; I just said we got a report of a magical surge near the house and someone local needed to check it out."
"Oh. Good thinking."
"Do the sunroom next and be quick."
"It has full-length glass windows. I'll be seen there."
"I checked when you were in the kitchen, and someone drew the curtains there too. I think you'll be fine. It's better to do it now while it's still light than when it's dark. Any light that’s on will cast shadows."
"Point taken."
After a mere few minutes, I discovered the sunroom was also a dud. There was no horologican secreted anywhere within it, although I did take a moment to appreciate how neat and tidy it appeared without all the disintegrating piles of Council archive boxes. I wondered who, if anyone, took over my job in my absence. That was something I hadn't even thought about, and now my head was filled with the momentous task at hand I had to file it away for future thought. "I'm starting to wonder if the horologican was lying to me," I said, returning to the living room where Evan waited. "Or I got it wrong somehow."
"How often is that thing wrong?"
"Never, to my knowledge, but I've never asked it to help me like this before." I swung the crystal as I spoke, amusing myself by turning it in circles before swinging it into the air, when it suddenly pulled taut. We both stared up at it, suspended mid-air. A gentle tug from the crystal tightened the chain wrapped around my fingers.
"Is it supposed to do that?" asked Evan.
"I don't know." The crystal tugged again, drawing the chain completely taut. I stepped forwards and the crystal floated away at the full length of its chain. I took another step and the same thing happened. So, I took another, then another, following the crystal until gradually, it levitated above me.
Raising my hand firmly above my head, I stepped into the small dining area attached to the living room. It was a space I rarely used since I mostly ate in the kitchen, and it was now bathed in the late afternoon sun.
Dragging a chair out, I stepped on it, loosening my grip on the crystal. The chain hung stiffly, rather than floating away, and the crystal didn't move from under the beam where its point rested. Whatever it wanted me to find was up there, but I wasn't nearly tall enough to see. Even with the chair, I still had to stand on my tiptoes to reach one hand up to the beam. I patted the wood, touching the small gnarls formed long ago in the wood, and layers of dust coated my fingers. I patted as far as I could reach to the left and then back again to the right. At the join was a small cavity. Taking a deep breath, and hoping there weren't any spiders, I slipped my hand inside and felt a small package. Easing it out with my thumb and forefinger until I could grasp it, I gave it one last tug before it was free. The crystal dropped and so did I. I closed my eyes, using my hand to cover my face for the impact that never came.
"Gotcha," said Evan, as he set me on my feet. My heart was thumping with anticipation that happily gave way to relief.
"Thank you."
"That it?" We stared at the brown paper parcel in my hand. I eased the twine knot open, letting it fall to the floor, then peeled back the paper. Judging by all the dust and the ancient cobweb covering it, it must have been up there a long time. The paper fell away, revealing a thick, little book covered in multicoloured leather and finished with iron embellishments that wrapped around the spine and edges. They joined in the middle and created a fastening. It opened as I brushed my thumb across it and the pages fluttered. Colours, like none I'd even seen before, seeped from it, drifting around us like smoke.
"I've felt magic imbued in books before, but this is something else," said Evan, totally awed.
I tried to bounce a finger off a swirl of pink as it wafted past my nose, but my finger slipped right through it. I felt the magic despite its absence of physical form; the colours similar in substance to air. I could see it, feel it, and pass my fingers through it, but I couldn't touch it. I started to turn the page when I saw a flash of fur streaking past the window, heading for the front of the house. "The wolves are getting closer," I said. "I thought you told me they were patrolling out of sight."
"That's what we agreed. Do you have somewhere to put the book while I check out front?"
"Yes, I can fit it here," I said, tucking it inside the inner pocket of my jacket. It nestled against my chest, not exactly comfortably, given its hard edges and metal embellishments.
"There's a werewolf on the lawn," said Evan, thumbing the curtain open a fraction. I stooped next to him, peeking, and watched the werewolf bend on its front legs, touching its nose to the ground. There was something very familiar about the markings.
"I might know the wolf. I think he wants something," I said, moving towards the door. I slipped the key into the door, turning the knob to pull it open.
"Stella, don't!" cautioned Evan as I stepped forwards. I opened my mouth to call the wolf and felt the first blast of magic. It hit the house, the wards barely shielding us from its impact, and I stumbled backwards. Ahead of us, the bowing wolf swelled in size, its features morphing from sleek to something straight out of a horror movie. Its body swelled, its fur receded, and its eyes began to bleed before it emitted an unearthly howl, revealing the tips of very sharp teeth that glinted in its enormous mouth.
The grotesque monster was flanked by people appearing on either side of it. It suddenly lurched forwards, its misshapen limbs struggling to support the twisted body. It launched itself at the porch, whimpering when it hit the force field, then throwing itself at us again, its slavering jaws snapping as shouts of encouragement rang out.
"Let's get out of here," said Evan, echoing the very words I thought. He slammed the door shut and we dropped to a crouch.
"What was that?"
"An ambush."
"What did they do to the werewolf?"
"I don't think that was a local wolf, even if the markings looked familiar. Maybe something they experimented on..."
"There was a werewolf being held captive. I remember. He helped me escape. Oh no! What if..." I turned with horror towards the door, the words dying on my lips. What if that was the werewolf I left behind? Was that why his markings looked familiar? No, I decided, he had his fangs extracted and this werewolf still had his.
"It could be an illusion. Anything. Don't think about it. We have to get out of here. The magic out there is powerful, and I'm not sure the wards I put up temporarily can handle an assault like this." Evan grabbed me to him. "Hold on." The heat of his dematerialisation flashed around us and just as we disappeared, I was sure I could hear, in the distance, Georgia Thomas laughing.
We landed, panting, on textured carpet. My ears rang with snarls and laughter. I knew, in my rational mind, they were nowhere near now. "They were waiting for us," I said, still crouched in a defensive position. Perhaps if I made myself very small, no one could possibly see me. They sure couldn't with Evan bent over me. "Someone told them."
"Someone was watching, or they left magic to alert them if anyone entered. Somehow, when we shimmered into your house, we must have activated it. They must have planned for that. Here—" Evan released me from his arms and took one hand, pulling me up with him as he stood upright. Forcing my eyes to focus, I blinked and looked around. We were in his room again, as if we'd never left the calm and quiet. Except now, along with a ringing in my ears, I had a small, but very important, book.
"We have the book," I said, pulling it from my pocket, grateful I hadn't dropped it in the rush to escape. "Could they have known it was there?"
"I doubt it. I'm guessing they were waiting for you, expecting you to return at some point. After all, it's your home."
"As long as it's still standing." I heaved a sigh, wondering if my house was now a conflagration of flames. "Anyway, I'm starting to wonder what home is. I always thought it was a place of my own, but maybe I got it wrong. Maybe home is—" I threw my hands in the air, gesturing wildly. "Maybe home is all this. Maybe it's wherever I feel I belong. How do I know?"
"You get to decide," said Evan.
"Shouldn't it be a feeling?"
"A feeling can come after a decision. Or a decision can come after a feeling. Does it really matter if you end up with what you want?"
"I guess not."
"We need to tell Étoile about this."
"About decision making?"
"No," Evan laughed and the air around us lightened, making it easier to breathe. "No, we need to tell her about the ambush. She'll want to know."
"Fine," I agreed, following him to the door. I stepped out before him, the book wedged in my arms, and waited for him to pull the door shut and activate the lock.
"Thank you for coming with me," I said as he turned around. I stood on tiptoes to kiss Evan's cheek, ever appreciative for his quick thinking. "I don't know what I would have done without you there. I can't believe I opened the door. I can't believe I froze. If you weren't there..."
I expected him to say something practical about training for ambushes, and focusing harder, but instead, Evan caught the back of my head just as I was pulling away and drew me back to him. His lips landed on mine, a fierce kiss that instantly had the world revolving around us, spinning madly, until I was dizzily searching for more. It was like the intervening years never happened, and I was right back at the safe house, falling in love with Evan all over again, my heart pounding in a thrilling rhythm.
A thud against the wall pulled us apart. I gasped for air, wondering if I somehow forgot how to breathe. Evan's eyes burned into mine. Another gasp sounded further away, and I turned, halfway not caring, halfway prepared for another attack, but it was just a couple stumbling into the hallway. They were kissing intensely and pushing against each other as their hands grappled for a door. A low growl rumbled, and I squinted, noticing the woman's long hair
as the man wound it in his hands. Werewolves. The door behind them unclicked and the female wolf stumbled through, reaching for her mate. He stepped forward, stopped, and looked directly at us.
Gage.
Gage was the one entangled with the female werewolf. So much for his earlier proclamations of affection for me! The sharp stab of indignation combined with the confusion I felt, the worry I endured, and the pain that trailed me when I walked away. Finally, I felt nothing but relief. I was glad I hadn't pursued him because now he had exactly what he really wanted: a female werewolf. A mate he'd never have to keep secret, and never have to try too hard for. He and I made the right decision not to pursue anything, and finally, I felt the last bubble of confusion and sexual attraction collapse.
As the couple fell through the door, it slammed shut behind them, and I turned away, looking up at Evan. There was only one I wanted, only one I ever wanted a future with, and he was standing in front of me, gazing down at me with an imperceptible expression. I reached for him, aching to tell him how much he meant to me, but he stepped backwards, using the smallest of movements to distance us. "Not like this," he said, his voice suddenly guttural.
"Like what?"
"Not out of anger. Not like this." He turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the corridor, wondering what the hell just happened.
Chapter Thirteen
Instead of following Evan as he stalked away angrily — I wasn't sure I wanted to run into him if he continued to see Étoile — I began my search for Astra. I was hoping she had some luck finding out the details of the other talismans. Plus, I wanted to hear what she thought of the new horologican.
On the way there, I ran, literally, into Chyler. We collided as we both rounded a corner at the same time.
"I was just coming to see you!" she exclaimed.
"What's happened?" I perused her face, my heart calming once I realised she wasn't panicked in anyway. Instead, she seemed pleased.
"The book landed in my lap five minutes ago." She pushed the horologican at me, then hugged it to her chest again. "That's good news, right? It helped you?"
Endless Magic (Stella Mayweather Series Book 6) Page 13
